


the kids aren't alright

by houndpine



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Asexual Barry Allen, Bisexual Oliver Queen, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Trauma, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, High School, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-03-10 01:18:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18928384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houndpine/pseuds/houndpine
Summary: After three years presumed dead, wealthy teenage heir Oliver Queen is found on a remote island in the North China Sea. He returns home, determined not to talk about everything that happened to him, and ends up crossing paths with Barry Allen.Barry just wants to get through high school and maybe find his mother's killer along the way. He doesn't expect to meet Oliver Queen, much less become involved in his life, but life doesn't always turn out the way you expect it to.





	1. don't you know

Barry rolls across his bed from where he was sprawled out while studying for chemistry to reach for his wildly buzzing phone.

He snatches up the device to see texts flooding in from his friends- Felicity, Cisco, Caitlyn. Every message is some form of "oh my god" or "check the news". Frowning, Barry scrambles upright and heads out of his room, hurrying downstairs to turn on the TV in the Wests' living room.

He arrives in the living room to find Joe and Iris already watching the news. A large, all-caps message emblazoned across the bottom of the screen reads: OLIVER QUEEN FOUND.

"Woah," Barry says out loud, slowing to a halt behind the couch. "Did not see that one coming."

Oliver Queen had been three years older than Barry, not to mention living in another city entirely, before he disappeared, but everyone knew him. He was the son of Starling City mayor Moira Queen and billionaire businessman Robert Queen, and notorious for his popularity, partying, and tendency to be a total douchebag to anyone who wasn't his best friend Tommy Merlyn or a girl he wanted to sleep with.

Oliver Queen became even more famous when he was kidnapped three years ago. His father and he had been taken together, but they found Robert Queen's body a few days later. Oliver had supposedly been declared presumed dead, but for wealthy victims, police investigations often continued far past the normal grace period. Barry thinks of his father, wrongly convicted of murdering his mother with no hesitation and put away for years just because Barry was a traumatized little kid who couldn't be trusted as a witness. He feels the familiar anger begin to rise in his chest, but his attention is brought back to the present by the news anchor who begins speaking onscreen.

"We're being told that Moira Queen, mother of Oliver Queen and former mayor of Starling City, has released a statement concerning these events. We will play that tape for you now."

Moira Queen appears on the screen, her face weary yet composed. She'd resigned from her post as mayor after her husband's murder and her son's disappearance, moving to Central City and running Queen Consolidated along with Walter Steele from there.

She sits in an immaculate study, dressed formally, her hair perfect. Barry scrutinizes her face and sees the carefully hidden sadness in her eyes and the lines of her face.

"Earlier today, my son Oliver Queen was found by a fishing boat on a remote island off of the coast of northern China. He is currently being checked over at a hospital in China for immediate injuries but will be returning home as soon as possible. My family and I would like to thank the people of Starling and Central City for your continued support throughout the past three years, support that helped us get through this tragedy. Thank you all, truly."

"Did she say China?" Iris asks incredulously, arms folded across her chest. "How on earth did he end up there?"

Joe shrugs. "There's no telling what whackos will do. They may have just dropped him on an island after they didn't want or need him anymore to get rid of him."

Barry frowns as another thought occurred to him. "He'll know who kidnapped him, right? Do you think your department will interview him, or the SCPD?"

"Probably SCPD," Joe replies. "They're the ones who originally handled the case, even if Oliver will be living in Central City now. Though if anything else time-sensitive occurs, we'll probably be the ones called in." He glances back at Barry and then across the room at Iris. "Hey, when he goes back to school he'll probably be in the same grade as you guys, with all the time he's missed."

"Probably, but I doubt he'll end up at the same school," Barry says, draping his arms across the back of the couch next to where Joe is sitting. "They'll probably send him to some fancy private school."

Joe laughs. "True. The Queens have the money, that's for sure." He shrugs. "But hey, you never know."

Iris flops down in the armchair facing the television, laughing. "Yeah, like Oliver Queen's ever going to settle for some public high school, even if it is the best one for miles around."

Before Barry can reply, his gaze is drawn back to the TV screen when the news anchor begins to babble in excitement, her hand held to her ear as she listened to whatever the people behind the scenes were telling her.

"We're getting word that Oliver Queen has been spotted exiting a Chinese hospital. We've received some amateur footage, which we will show now for our viewers."

A video, very obviously filmed on a cell phone, appears on the screen. A small group of what looked like local police officers are escorting someone down the broad steps in front of a hospital, heading for a dark, nondescript car waiting at the curb. As they hurry down the steps, a gap opened in their ranks and Oliver Queen is clearly visible.

He's dressed in scrubs, which aren't exactly the most flattering clothes but still give an impression of a muscular build that is definitely not typical for a nineteen-year-old millionaire heir. Barry's attention is quickly drawn to Oliver's hunched shoulders and tense expression. His face is hard to see, unshaven and curtained by long hair, but Barry can make out something that looks a lot like a grimace.

"He doesn't look very happy," Iris comments, eyes as sharp as ever.

Joe snorts. "He is a kidnap victim, Iris. Not to mention in the middle of a country where he doesn't speak the native language. Poor kid."

"I'm just observing," Iris replies defensively, sticking her tongue out.

"Well how about you go observe some more of that homework," Joe says, raising his eyebrows and making a shooing motion with his hands. "You too, Bear. I know you're both geniuses or something, but even you need to study for midterms."


	2. bad trip

Oliver doesn't like the hospital.

It's better than anywhere he's been for the last three years, of course, but he just wants to see his family, and Tommy, and Laurel.

There's too much noise at the hospital, too many harsh chemical scents, too many people traversing the hallways. And although he knows that the doctor who's examining him is simply here to help, he can still feel panic creeping up his throat as he sits, vulnerable and exposed, on the examination table. He grips the edge of the table tightly, keeping his gaze down. He'd shaved and gotten his hair cut, and it feels odd not to have long hair brushing his jaw and a hood drawn over his head.

The doctor has treated him politely from the start, although after discovering the extent of Oliver's scars he's alternated between rounds of extensive questioning and handling Oliver like he's made of glass.

"Would it be alright if I drew your blood?" the doctor asks, and Oliver flinches slightly at the sound of his voice. He wants to say no, but the question is more of a courtesy than anything and if this final test means that he'll finally be left alone for a moment, he'll take it.

After the doctor finishes drawing his blood, he reaches out to pat Oliver on the back before hesitating and withdrawing his hand. Oliver's thankful. He's not sure he can handle touch from a stranger right now without breaking their hand or something else important to general health and comfort.

He's led to a blessedly empty room and given clean clothes. He hasn't worn clothes this soft for a long time, and the unfamiliar texture along with the strong smell of laundry detergent puts him even more on edge. After he's finally, finally left alone, he can't do anything but pace restlessly, all of his senses remaining on high alert.

He hears the doctor's voice outside, and his muscles tense in readiness for a threat. He puts his back to the wall as the doorknob turns.

His mother enters the room, her steps slow and hesitant, her eyes immediately fixing on him.

"Oliver?"

"Mom," he says softly, taking a few steps towards her. He wonders what she sees in his face-- if she can see how much he's changed.

"Oh," she says, tears in her eyes as she rushes forward. "My beautiful boy."

He can't coax his face to smile just yet, but he returns her hug. He still feels a current of anxiety running through him even at the maternal touch, expecting pain at any moment, a knife in the back, and hates himself for it.

"Ollie?"

The new voice interrupts the hug as well as his thoughts, and when he pulls away from his mother to see his little sister standing nervously in the doorway, Oliver finally manages a smile.

"Hey, Speedy."

Thea grins, her laugh turning into a sob as she rushes forward and throws her arms around Oliver, who tenses for a second before he reminds himself that it's just Thea, forcing his muscles to relax as he hugs her back, tears pricking at his own eyes.

"I missed you so much," Thea says fervently, finally drawing back. She swipes a hand over her eyes, smudging her mascara. When Oliver saw her last, she hadn't started wearing makeup yet.

"I thought about you every day," Oliver replies, his hands still resting on Thea's shoulders. It seems so impossible to be here with his mother and his sister, safe and sound, after three years of hell.

The shock of the moment sweeps over him suddenly, and he sways slightly on his feet. His mother immediately sits him down on the edge of the bed, asking if he feels alright. Oliver doesn't answer. His mind is taking him back to three years ago, the last time he was happy with his family.

 

* * *

 

_Oliver ignored the pointed looks of disapproval that his father kept directing at him via the rearview mirror in favor of focusing his attention on talking with Sara. She was in a delightfully cheerful and giggly mood despite the fact that Laurel was going to murder both of them when she found out that Oliver took her sister with him on this trip instead of her. His father had invited him along on a business trip to China "for the experience", and he had only reluctantly agreed to take Sara along too because he was on a tight schedule and Oliver and Sara had surprised him last-minute with her presence._

_Guilt was already sinking its teeth into Oliver, but he pushed the emotion away and told himself that he was doing this for Laurel's benefit. She was getting way too serious, wanting to make their relationship a long-term one, and she deserved so much more than a party boy who was only barely making it through his junior year of high school because of his parents' generous "donations" to the school. She'd probably never talk to him again after this, and then she'd move on and probably end up as a Supreme Court justice or something similarly prestigious._

_Trying to distract his thoughts from the well-worn path of guilt and justification they were treading, Oliver leaned in to kiss Sara._

_Instead, a sudden impact to the side of the car threw him away from Sara. Oliver cried out in pain as he hit the car door, something in his shoulder making a gruesome crunching noise._

_The car skidded sideways across the road with a high-pitched screech of tires until it smashed into the guard rail on the side of the road, arresting the movement suddenly and sending Oliver back towards the center of the car, his seatbelt cutting deep into his chest._

_The car finally stilled and Oliver groaned, his eyesight swimming and his heart pounding. Sara was slumped beside him, and he clumsily shook her shoulder until she stirred. A vise in Oliver's chest seemed to relax slightly and he was able to breathe again. Sara was alive, at least._

_He turned his head towards the front of the car, where he could see his father struggling to unbuckle his seatbelt, his eyes and movements panicked._

_The screech of metal on metal made Oliver jump as the driver side door was wrenched open. He sighed in relief-- someone had stopped to help them._

_"Call 911," he said, but then he saw that the man who had opened the door was clad entirely in black-- including a ski mask-- and carried a gun._

_"What the--" Oliver managed before the door nearest to Sara was opened and another masked man reached in and hauled Sara out of the car. Oliver shouted wordlessly in anger and fear and managed to get a good few kicks in before he, too, was pulled out of the car, where he saw that men held his father and Sara as well._

_He squirmed in the grip of the man who held him, but the man kicked the back of his knees and brought him to the ground easily. When Oliver made to rise, the man cracked the butt of his gun against the teenager's skull hard enough that Oliver's vision went fuzzy and black at the corners._

_Oliver didn't try to stand again._


	3. sometimes i just want to sit around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos!   
> Updates will come (hopefully) weekly.

The following day, it's impossible to go more than two steps down the hallways of Central City High without hearing the name "Oliver Queen", and, quite frankly, Barry is getting a little sick of it. Not only is it annoying because no one is talking about anything else, but some of the things that people are saying are also ridiculous. Many girls-- and a fair few boys as well-- seem to be fixated only on how attractive Queen is, and the only words they exchange about his three years as a missing person are focused on how he got so muscled. No one seems particularly concerned about who kidnapped the teenager and his friend Sara and murdered his father. Barry supposes that not everyone has a cop for a surrogate father, or is as interested in crimes as he is, but he's still exasperated by the total lack of concern for Oliver-- although he personally still views the teen as a rich, shallow party boy.

Barry doesn't get a break at home, either. Iris is rapidly becoming obsessed with Oliver, her admiration for his physical features as well as her natural stubborn and inquisitive nature meaning that she's following the Oliver Queen story avidly and chattering endlessly about the older boy and her theories about his three missing years.

Even Joe, due to his role as a detective, often mentions the case. At the very least, his conversation on the matter is less gossip and more facts than anyone else's. From him, Barry learns that some detectives from Starling City are working out of the CCPD to handle the case, although the Queen family requested that an interview wait until Oliver was settled in at home after he's released from the hospital.

By the time Barry manages to escape to his bedroom that evening, he's too distracted to focus on studying and eventually gives up in favor of texting his friends. Unsurprisingly, the singular topic on everyone's minds is the focus of their conversation as well.

**candyman: yo i'm dyING to know more about the queen story ughhh**

**felixfelicis: want me to hack into scpd records?**

**winterwonderland: That's illegal, Felicity.**

**winterwonderland: Also, Barry can be our inside man!**

**me: i'm not being your informant!!**

**felixfelicis: awwwwww :(**

**felixfelicis: hacking it is then**

**me: fine**

**me: uhhh scpd is sending some detectives to ccpd to work the case, ccpd will help if they need it**

**me: no interview yet, queen family wants to wait**

**candyman: you're the best, man**

**felixfelicis: <3**

Barry laughs at the texts, then casts a guilty look at the pile of textbooks strewn on the floor. He glances at his watch and tells himself that it's probably late enough that he should just go to sleep instead of working. In any case, his brain is still fixated on Oliver Queen and the mystery of the three years he'd been gone, so any more attempts to study will be as futile as his previous ones.

Barry sighs and flops onto his bed, staring up at his ceiling and the glow-in-the-dark stars Joe had helped him put up after the Wests first took him in. He knows it's childish to still have them up, but they remind him of the family he'd found with the Wests and he can never bring himself to take them down. It's not like he's going to have anyone in his room anytime soon that would judge him for it, anyway. All of his friends are uber dorks just like he is, and dating is not a realm Barry spends much time in. Or any.

Great. Now he's dwelling on how pathetic his social life is.

To be fair, at least some of his lack of romantic endeavors is due to the fact that his own sexuality is kind of a mystery to him at the moment. Girls are pretty, and boys are pretty too, but he has yet to see anyone who appeals to him past the "I like to look at you and I'd be happy to go out with you" stage.

Barry groans, throwing a hand over his eyes. Maybe it's time to try to just shut his brain up and get some sleep.

* * *

 

_He's screaming for his mom, and his dad is yelling, and his mom is crying, (stop stop stop) and a man is there (can't see his face) with something that glints and flashes in the moonlight (like lightning, but that's impossible) and it's arcing down-- down-- down--_

Barry wakes suddenly, his breathing loud and ragged in the quiet darkness of his bedroom. He squeezes his eyes shut, the memory playing in his mind as vividly as if it were yesterday. He turns onto his back, throwing his sweaty sheets off and gazing at the stars on his ceiling, their familiar soft green glow calming him.

The nightmare of his mom's murder is a recurring one, ever since she was murdered five years previously. Barry supposes he should be used to it by now- or better, be free of it. But he's never been able to move on from that night. It's always there, lurking at the back of his mind, waiting for the perfect moment to strike again. Joe made him talk to therapists, to counselors, but inevitably they all rejected the idea that his father was innocent and Barry would refuse to see them again. Eventually, Joe stopped trying and now he simply asks Barry now and again if he's okay and if he needs anything.

And Barry is okay. He's fine. So he's a little obsessed with his mother's death and the stranger who wielded the knife that killed her. But who wouldn't be? His dad is in jail for something he didn't do, and his mother is gone. As far as Barry's concerned, he's not about to get over it anytime soon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the group chat:  
> candyman = Cisco  
> felixfelicis = Felicity  
> winterwonderland = Caitlyn


End file.
